Work in Verona, live in Madison? (Monroe, Washington: apartments, rent, house)

[prtschll]

I'm currently in the interview process w/ Epic systems in Verona, and was wondering how close I could live to Verona but still be in Madison, w/ access to bike trails and public transportation to downtown Madison. I have heard great things about Madison (have not actually been there) and would like to be part of that community. However, I want to avoid a long commute (anything over 30 min.) and don't want to spend more than $1000/month on living expenses (rent, parking, heat, electricity, water, etc.) for a 1 BDRM. Does this sound reasonable? Any suggestions on specific locations/communities? Also, does anyone have any thoughts on Epic? Is it a good place to work? They seem to have good benefits and working environment, but that may just be PR. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Drover]

Verona and Madison border each other and traffic on the main artery between them (Verona Rd) flows like water through a firehose once you get past the Beltline. So as long as you stay on the West side of Madison so that you don't have to go around the lakes, you'd have a rather easy commute. I'd suggest the area along Monroe Street by Edgewood College if you can find an apartment there (may not be easy; it's mostly a SFH area). But really -- and here's where it might be a good time to look up Madison on Google Maps and zoom in on the southwest portion of the city -- anywhere inside the area bound by Monroe to the Southeast, University to the North and Midvale to the East (maybe even Whitney Way) will put you in a decent neighborhood with an easy commute; just know that the very northwest portion of this area up by where Monroe Street meets Regent Street is heavily populated by UW students and may not exactly be the quietest on weekends.

Your $1,000 budget is going to be tight though; to be more realistic I'd bump that up to $1,200. If you must come in under $1,000, you'll have better luck doing it by living in Verona and then doing the short drive into Madison when you want to play on weekends.

[Chelito23]

The area near the newly reinvented Hilldale mall area came to mind. There are many well kept, modest apartments on Midvale Mall. Look out from the intersection of University Ave and Midvale Blvd. There are countless nice apartments...and the price range starts from reasonable to the sky is the limit. The area is in the transportation corridor so to speak where the busses run regularly to downtown, you can walk to the stores nearby, you are near a golf course, the lake and Hoyt Park. Also, it is an established area so there are large trees....if that is important to you.

I agree with Drover that your 1000K budget will be tough at least PART of the year (winter), when your heating bills will skyrocket...

If you absolutely have to stay within your 1000K budget there are alternatives, but nothing as close to accesible transportation to downtown...or nice parks or tails so close. Prices are more modest off Fish Hatchery Rd near the Beltline (south)...as well as Gammon Road near Elver Park...you would be closer to Verona, but farther from the things that make Madison special...although your rent would be one or two hundred dollars less. You make the call.

[Drover]

I'd be cautious about the Fish Hatchery corridor near the Beltline. There's a reason why prices are more modest there: it's a bit of an iffy area. Madison doesn't have too many trouble spots, and the trouble spots it does have aren't as bad as the urban decay you find in major cities. But Fish Hatchery/Beltline is one of those trouble spots and the trouble is sufficient to affect the quality of life there.

[why_so_much_racism]

yes drover is right, fish hatchery area is a bit troublesome, but all the same i have friends who live there and say its fine. i used to walk there alone after dark and everyone in my family was like whoa you shouldn do that its dangerous. but i thin kthey worry too much. you make the call. the most desirable living locations in madison are on the near west or near east side. the near east is for hippies and students and liberals ( i wish i lived there ). the near west is more expensive, but closer to verona. the far west, which is an area that is really like any city in america and has no identifiers of waht makes madison special, is even closer to verona, but again its not the highlight of the city.

[Drover]

The trouble with someone commuting to Verona living on the east side -- even the near east side -- is fighting all rush hour traffic that bottlenecks through the isthmus. Just the extra 2 miles or so that living near, say, East Washington and Brearly would add versus living near Regent and Monroe could nearly double his commute time.

[LML]

There are some nice 1 bedroom apartments on East Pass ...which runs right into Cross Country Rd in Verona....about a 5 minute commute to Epic. The bedroom is HUGE and each apartment has a fireplace. Each apartment also has a 2 car tandem attached garage. They rent for around $700 per month. I rented one while my house was being built and was very happy with it. They are right by the corner of East Pass and Maple Grove Rd. A grocery store, Walgreens, beauty parlour, dry cleaners, Pizza Hut, Family Video, Sub shop, gas station, etc. etc. are all within a couple of blocks. And the ice age trail...a great hiking trail...is about 6 blocks away. I really think you'd like the neighborhood, the convienience, and the apartment.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by LML

There are some nice 1 bedroom apartments on East Pass ...which runs right into Cross Country Rd in Verona....about a 5 minute commute to Epic. The bedroom is HUGE and each apartment has a fireplace. Each apartment also has a 2 car tandem attached garage. They rent for around $700 per month. I rented one while my house was being built and was very happy with it. They are right by the corner of East Pass and Maple Grove Rd. A grocery store, Walgreens, beauty parlour, dry cleaners, Pizza Hut, Family Video, Sub shop, gas station, etc. etc. are all within a couple of blocks. And the ice age trail...a great hiking trail...is about 6 blocks away. I really think you'd like the neighborhood, the convienience, and the apartment.

Welp, there it is....

[prtschll]

Wow. I never expected so many replies so quickly. Everyone's willingness to help makes me want to live in Madison even more. It sounds like I can accomplish what I want, but it may prove to be a little more expensive than I thought. I'd probably take LML's suggestion and do one of those apartments for a while to save some money up, and then try to get a place up by campus and start whooping it up w/ the UW crowd. I probably should have mentioned that I'm only going to graduate myself in the near future and am looking for a little bit of that campus life for a while before I really have to grow up. Of course, this is all speculation as I have to get the job first. Just wanted to have some idea of the lifestyle I could have w/ the job. Thanks for the advice.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Drover

Verona and Madison border each other and traffic on the main artery between them (Verona Rd) flows like water through a firehose once you get past the Beltline. So as long as you stay on the West side of Madison so that you don't have to go around the lakes, you'd have a rather easy commute. I'd suggest the area along Monroe Street by Edgewood College if you can find an apartment there (may not be easy; it's mostly a SFH area). But really -- and here's where it might be a good time to look up Madison on Google Maps and zoom in on the southwest portion of the city -- anywhere inside the area bound by Monroe to the Southeast, University to the North and Midvale to the East (maybe even Whitney Way) will put you in a decent neighborhood with an easy commute; just know that the very northwest portion of this area up by where Monroe Street meets Regent Street is heavily populated by UW students and may not exactly be the quietest on weekends.

Your $1,000 budget is going to be tight though; to be more realistic I'd bump that up to $1,200. If you must come in under $1,000, you'll have better luck doing it by living in Verona and then doing the short drive into Madison when you want to play on weekends.

Wow, I really got my directions all mixed up in this segment of my post: I meant to say you should be good in any section bound by Monroe to the southeast, University to the north, and Midvale to the west, with the northeast corner where Monroe meets Regent is the most student-populated of that area.